Automatic stock and poultry feeding device



Nov. 17, 1925. 1,561,656

F L MOODY AUTOMATIC STOCK AND POULTRY FEEDING DEVICE Filed June 29, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet} Gnome Nov., 17, 1925. 1,561,656

F. L. MOODY AUTOMATIC STOCK AND POULTRY FEEDING DEVICE Filed June 29, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

UNITED .STATES FRED L. MOODY, OF ONE-OHTA, ALABAMA.

AUTOMATIC STOCK AND PGULTRY FEEDING DEVICE.

Application filed .Tune 29, 1925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED L. MoooY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oneonta, in the county of Blount and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Automatic Stock and Poultry F ceding Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in feeding devices for stock or poultry and has for its principal object to provide a means for automatically actuating the feeding de vice at any desired and predetermined time.

.A further object is to provide an auto matic stock and poultry feeding device of the above mentioned character which will at all times be positive and efficient in its operation, the time control mechanism being provided for actuating the feeding device.

A. still further object is to provide an automatic stock and poultry feeding device of the above mentioned character which is simple in construction and inexpensive and furthermore adapted to the purposes for which the same is designated.

Other objects and advantages of this inven-tion will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure l is a. side elevation of the feeding device as associated with the stalls in a shed provided for stock.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the housing provided for the alarm clock forming a part of the present invention and showing the drum secured on the alarm winding shaft of the clock.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the drum and the end of the alarm winding shaft.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the feed hopper showing the hinged closure for the discharge end thereof in its normally locked position, the locking means being shown partly in side elevation and partly in section.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the locking mechanism, and

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the ring engaging hook showing the hinged plate associated therewith.

In the drawing wherein for the purpose Serial No. 40,311.

of illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 1,

designates the feed box or hopper, the same including a hinged top 2 and a hinged bottom 3 which forms a closure for the discharge end of the hopper, the free end of the hinged closure extending beyond the front of the box as is more clearly illustrated in Fig. An inclined partition 4 is arranged within the lower portion of the forward portion of the feed hopper and the. purpose thereof is to provide a means for cansing the feed placed in the box to be directed towards the rear of the box.

As is shown more clearly in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the feed hop-per is secured on the rear wall A of each of the stalls B which are provided in the shed designated generally by the letter C for stock such as horses or cattle. The feed hopper is preferably located directly above the feed trough D so that the feed when discharged from the hopper will fall into the trough. When the feeding device is to be used for feeding poultry, the hopper may be supported in any suitable manner over the feed trough provided for the poultry in the same manner as heretofore described.

Acasing 5 is arranged on the forward side of the hopper, the lower front face thereof being open as illustrated at 6 and the purpose thereof will hereinafter be more fully described. A block 7 is supported on the front face of the hopper within the lower portion of the casing 5 and a suitable vertical opening 8 is provided in the top of the block. A guide block 9 is also supported on the front face of the hopper within the casing 5 and is spaced from the aforementioned block 7, this block 9 being provided with a longitudinally extending bore 10 which extends for the full length of the block. An additional guide block 11 is also arranged on the front face of the hopper within the upper portion of the casing and is also provided with a vertical opening or bore 12. As is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1- of the drawings, the bores 10 and 12 are in registry with each other and further register with the opening 8 formed in the top of the block 7.

An elongated locking rod 13 is adapted for vertical slidable movement through the guide blocks 9 and 11- and the lower end of this rod is adapted to enter the recess 8 provided in the top of the lowermost block 7. A collar 14 is arranged on the intermediate portion of the rod 13 and is operable between the blocks 9 and 11 for the purpose of limiting the movement of the rod in either direction and for more particularly preventing the displacement of the rods from the guide blocks when the rod is raised to an inoperative position. An eye 15 is formed at the upper end of the rod and connected thereto is one end of the cable 16. The other end of the cable 16 is adapted to be wound around and attached to a suitable drum 17. This drum is supported on the outer end of the alarm winding arbor 18 of any well known type of alarm clock designated generally by the numeral 19. The alarm clock is supported in a suitable cabinet 20 provided therefor, the rear end of the cabinet being open and normally closed through the medium of the hinged closure 21. This provides a means whereby access to the interior of the cabinet may be had at any time. The front face of the cabinet is provided with a circular opening 22 to accommodate the casing of the alarm clock so that the face of the alarm clock may be visible so that the time control mechanism which forms av part of the present invention for actuating the rod 13 as will be hereinafter more fully described will be used as a time piece.

The cabinet 20 is located at any desirable point and in the present instance, the same is shown as being supported on the side of one of the feed hoppers in one of the stalls. Suitable guide pulleys 23 are arranged in the stalls and over which the cables are trained. A single time controlled mechanism may be provided for actuating any number of feed hoppers and in the present instance, two of such hoppers are shown and the manner in which the cables of the respective locking rods ofthe respective feed hoppers are con nected together as more clearly shown in Fig. 1. I

A metallic strap 2% is hingedly secured at its lower end to the forward free end of the closure 3 provided for the discharge end of the feed hopper 1, the hinged connection being illustrated at 25. A ring 26 is carried by the upper end of the metallic strap 24L as is clearly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. Cooperating with the ring 26 is the hook 27 which projects laterally from the metallic strap 28 adjacent the upper end thereof. The lower portion of the strap 28 is disposed laterally as illustrated at 29 and is rigidly connected to the strip 30 as illustrated at 81. This strip 30 is secured to the bottom of the block 7 adjacent the forward or front face thereof. The upper end of the metallic strap 28 is hingedly connected to the strip 32 as at 33.

The last mentioned strip 32 is secured to the bottom of the forward end of the bar 34, the same being adapted for slidable movement between the block 7 and the guide block 9. This bar 34E is provided with an opening 35 adjacent the inner free end there of and normally is in registry with the bore 10 of the guide block 9 and the recess 8 provided in the top of the block 7 and through which the lower portion of the look ing rod 13 extends. A reinforcing member 36 is associated with the angular strap 28 and also acts as a weight.

Normally the hinged closure 3 is held in a locked position against the bottom of the feed hopper 1 so that the ring 26 will engage the hook 27 and the bar 34: will be disposed between the blocks 7 and 9 and the rod 13 will extend through the opening 35 in the bar and have its lower end disposed within the recess 8 provided therefor in the block 7. The winding arbor 18 of the alarm mechanism of the clock 19 is wound up and the time is set at which the alarm is to go off and simultaneously operate the locking rod 13. At the desired or predetermined time, the shaft or alarm arbor 18 of the alarm clock 19 will rotate in one direction causing the cable 16 to be wound around the drum 1? and siimiltaneo-usly raising the locking rod 13 upwardly so that the lower end of the rod is disengaged from the recess 8 in the block 7. As soon as the lower end of the locking rod has become disengaged from the opening 35 in the sliding bar 34:, the latter will move outwardly and will swing downwardly due to the weight of the reinforcing member 36 and during such outward swinging movement, the ring 26 carried by the upper end of the metallic strap 24 will become disengaged from the hook 2'7 causing the hinged closure 3 toswing downwardly into the posit-ion shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 4, and thus permitting the feed placed in the hopper 1 to be discharged by gravity into the trough D which is disposed directly below the hopper.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description, that a feeding device for stock or poultry has been provided which will be entirely automatic in its operation in releasing the hinged closure provided for the discharge end of the feed hopper, it being of course understood that the hinged closure without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. An automatic feeding device of the class described comprising in combination, a feed hopper, a hinged closure for the discharge end thereof, a vertically slideble locking rod, a slidable plate hingedly associated with the hopper and through which the locking rod is adapted to pass, a hook associated with a slidable plate, a ring carried by the free end of the hinged closure and normally engaging said hook, and means for actuating said locking rod to disengage the same from said slidable plate simultaneously permitting the disengagement of the ring from the hook and causing the hinged closure to swing downwardly whereby the feed is discharged from the hopper.

2. An automatic feeding device of the class described comprising in combination, a feed hopper, a hinged closure for the discharge end thereof, a block supported on the side of the hopper and having a recess in the top thereof, a vertically slidable locking rod adapted to have its lower end disposed in said recess, guide means for said rod, a bar hingedly associated with said block and adapted to normally rest 011 the top thereof, said bar being provided with an opening through which the lower portion of the looking rod is adapted to extend, ahook associated with said bar, a ring carried by the forward free end of said hinged closure and adapted to normally engage the hook whereby the closure is maintained in an operative position, and means for raising the locking rod for disengaging the same from the block and said bar whereby the bar will swing outwardly and downwardly and simultaneously disengage the ring from the hook to permit the downward swinging movement of the closure to an inoperative position whereby the feed is discharged from the hopper.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRED L. MOODY. 

